Cora, Book 1, It Begins

Chapter 1, September 8, 1970

It was early morning. The sun was up. A gentle breeze came off the ocean up through the Pacific Northwest Rain Forest, bringing with it a wonderful aroma. A mix of the sea, earth and forest. A brand new 1971 Bronco sat at the end of the side street where the gravel met the paved road. Two teens we're sitting in the front, music blasting.

It was the second day back at school for Cora's second year and Greg's third. They had missed the first day dealing with a somewhat difficult confrontation between a rancher and a family of Gugwi. It started violently but concluded with no loss of life. Despite the cuts and bruises, it was a win for them. Peace, although shaky, had been established.

They were busy kids. Their work to bring understanding between the forest beings and humans along with working in the family greenhouse never gave them much time to play. Neither of them would change a thing though; at least not that part of their lives. Home life was happy and loving.

Greg had stopped wanting to chat with Cora. There was a slight change this year, a pleasant one. He knew how much trouble his sister had adapting to Earth people. She was normally a spirited, vivacious girl who lit up a room whenever she entered and always had everyone laughing with her silly antics. All her life she had, perhaps incorrectly, been sheltered from Earth's humans. Until coming back last year she only had loving family, and friendly school or battle mates.

Greg had suffered too on his return. It didn't take long for him to build a wall around himself. He quickly found that the bulk of the kids spent most of their time trying to manipulate others. Others would be nice to your face then stab you in the back when you looked away. He went about his day with a fake smile on his face, pretending to like everyone.

He enjoyed the teachers though. All but one or two really cared about the students. Several of the female teachers were in their early twenties and very attractive, which was a big bonus to him.

It had been difficult for Cora to keep her anger and frustration undercontrol. Girls on earth were particularly abusive to each other. This was something Cora had never experienced and was unprepared for. Guys were the same. Despite her beautiful, girl next door looks and physical attractiveness She, like her brother, was tall, already 5'10". Much taller than any other girl in the school. Taller than any woman in town except her mother in fact. She also had a highly defined muscular physique typical of an Annunaki. Something unheard of with a girl in 1970. Most importantly however, she was the unknown kid. This made her a target.

She had recessed into an insecure, depressed individual. Her spark gone. Not completely, she still pranked Greg every few days. Those days in the field, like yesterday, she was her old crazy self. Cracking jokes,dancing around and being a genuine pain in his ass to everyone she could mess with.

Shortly after learning to talk both Cora and her brother were off to School on Trappist D. Then off to help support the Federation Military at the front. Despite the wide variety of Beings from all parts of the universe, there was a strong comradery between them. Yes, there were disagreements. However, their up bringing had taught them all that they were brothers and sisters. They learned together, they played together, they ate, slept and fought together. Any of them would give up their lives for another. This lifestyle, this bond was the nucleus of Federation strength. All were volunteers. Any one of them could leave whenever they wanted.

Upon their return, both she and her brother had been told that they had to do their best to blend in. Earth humans weren't ready to understand them, they had been warned. The existence of non human life was kept from virtually all the people of Earth. It would take time for humans to accept that they are not alone. As such, she felt she could not defend herself, keeping her anger bottled up inside.